C'mon! Enough Already! (Injury and Illness Update)

Good grief! I don't know what the Twins did to piss off the injury and illness demons, but they had better figure it out and correct it really quickly before things get any more serious.

Let's take inventory, shall we:

We already know that Nick Blackburn's season is over.

Joe Mauer's season is over. He has been diagnosed with "mild" pneumonia, and he needs to rest for two weeks -- which will take up the rest of the season. Mild pneumonia, often called "walking" pneumonia, is the least serious of the pneumonia infections, and it usually doesn't require hospitalization. This is not to say that Joe's not miserable. Pneumonia of any strain is an infection of the lungs. He can probably walk around and do some light activity, but he's got a bad cough and probably has a hard time catching his breath when he runs.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka's season is over. He has a nagging oblique strain that just doesn't seem to be getting better, so the Twins shut him down. According to LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune, the Twins have sent him on his way with instructions for an off-season workout program.

Justin Morneau's season is most likely over. He's still fighting concussion symptoms and now he's got the flu. The concussion symptoms are quite worrisome because they reappeared after he made a somewhat routine play attempt at first base. This article by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports explains just how scary and frustrating Justin's situation is.

Jason Kubel's season is most likely over. The foot injury he suffered earlier in the season has flared up again, and he's in quite a bit of pain. He'll have it looked at more during the off-season.

Denard Span's season might be over. He also can't shake off the concussion symptoms and migraines.

Scott Baker is still on the DL with a forearm strain. He hopes to be able to pitch out of the bullpen soon.

Alexi Casilla is still on the DL with a hamstring strain. He hope to be able to play before the end of the season.

Danny Valencia has the flu.

Ben Revere just got over having the flu.

Brian Duensing just got over having the flu.

Fransico Liriano pitched two innings out of the bullpen on Saturday. So that's good news.

~~~

Since we're talking about injuries and whatnot, here's Michael Cuddyer's paper doll:


Michael Cuddyer missed several games in August due to a sore neck. Then when he came back from that, he was promptly hit in the wrist by a pitch.

He played the day after he was hit by the pitch after verifying with medical staff that playing wouldn't damage it further and all he needed to do would be manage the pain.

This, of course, riled up columnist Jim Souhan, who praised Cuddyer's toughness (kind of omitting the fact that he missed time from the neck the week before) and used him as an example to prove that Joe Mauer is soft. Cuddyer, of course, wasn't able to play particularly well with the sore wrist.

Of course, all that put some bloggers and fans into a small snit (Souhan puts people into snits pretty regularly). A lot of folks (not wrongly so) kind of used him as an example that playing hurt is not necessarily a good option.

Once rosters expanded, Cuddyer missed some time to get the wrist feeling better.

I don't think it mattered too much either way whether he played hurt or not. He played when the team despirately needed warm bodies, and it wasn't like his poor play blocked anyone else from getting a chance. Then, when there were warm bodies, he sat. No problem.

2012 Wish List, Part III: Couples Counseling for Gardy and Danny

About three weeks ago, Ron Gardenhire and Danny Valencia had a bit of a tiff. A quarrel. A misunderstanding. And the they should do something about it before things blow up.

Gardy says that Danny stands up too straight when going for balls on his to his left and that he needs to get better jumps.

Danny says that he know that he needs to work on his defense, but also adds that you can't win any games when the team doesn't score any runs.

Danny was benched the next day.

Ok, so this little spat doesn't seem like much of anything. However, over the course of this whole season, the relationship between the two seems weird -- and unlike Gardy's relationships with the other players.

It's true that Danny hasn't lived up to everything he showed us last year. But, really, who on the team has? It's odd however, with as deep as this team is in fault, Gardy seems to single Danny out more than the rest of them (except for maybe Kevin Slowey, but he wasn't with the team enough to have to endure too much). And what's odder is that it's not really Gardy's style to call out guys to the media.

Guys like Nishioka, Young, and even Cuddyer have laid out some defensive miscues (don't even get me started on the pitching miscues) without a peep, but Gardy seems to keep his magnifying glass on Danny.

Now, Gardy's expectations of Danny might be a little higher than they are for others, and rightly so. Last year, we all saw the quality of player Danny can be, and Gardy wants him to build on that. So Gardy's probably trying to handle Danny with a little tough love to encourage some more drive. But it doesn't seem like Danny's getting that message.

It's no secret that Danny's a confident guy. But his willingness to refute Gardy's observations, also to the media, makes it seem like he's not listening.

I have no doubt that Danny has the desire to improve, and I also have no doubt that Danny knows what he needs to work on. So, he just needs to figure it out and get better, and Gardy will be happy.

And Gardy needs to give Danny some slack and remember to air out his beefs privately, and Danny will be happy.

And while a happy third-baseman probably won't fix all the Twins problems, it is one that's pretty easy.

~~~

Speaking of Danny, here's his paper doll.

For the most part, Danny has been pretty durable. He's had a few games off here and there, usually just as a break.

He sat out Sunday's game with a sore shoulder. After an off-day on Monday, he was able to return to action on Tuesday.

A's at Twins: Well...

Recap:
Friday: A's 1 - Twins 2
Saturday: A's 1 - Twins 0
Sunday: A's 5 - Twins 3

Record: 3-6

"Well..." I've been saying that a lot this weekend (imagine it all snotty-like; it kind of sounds like "welp"). There were just a whole bunch of missed opportunities. The Twins were getting me all excited with a nice hit, just to disappoint me. "Well..." Sure, the Twins faced some good pitching, but was it really that good?

Fortunately on Friday, there were runners on base for Joe Mauer, so he could drive in the go-ahead run. The fielders couldn't do their usual shift for him. If the bases would have been empty, it would have been yet another ground out to second. That saved the home opener, and the series apparently.

Blackie's nice start on Saturday was absolutely wasted by much flailing of the Twins' bats. So much flailing in fact, that one little error -- ok, one big error -- cost the Twins the game. "Well..."

Sunday's game was a little better as far at the Twins runs were concerned. Thome's blast was a ton of fun. And what a blast it was. But there were so many other wasted opportunities to score. And Baker's pitching wasn't all that sharp. "Well..."

Oh, and that baserunning gaffe by Valencia? It was hard to tell from the stands if Jerry White was telling him to "go to two" ('cuz that what he do) not realizing that Liddle was holding Kubel, or if Danny just rounded first too far, assuming that Jason would go home. Either way, some one was a bonehead. "Well..."

The brightest spot of the whole weekend was Thome's blast. That ball flew out of Target Field so fast. It cleared the new batters' eye screen. I heard it crossed the concourse and hit one of the TVs that hang over the State Fair booth. Heh heh. 

I was at Sunday's game. I took some fun, albeit lousy, pictures. I'll post them sometime soon. I only had my phone, so the pictures aren't very good. I want to try to make them a little better.

High Five:

Only one this time: Jim Thome. #590

A pat on the back for Nick Blackburn for a really good effort.
~~~

DL Report:

The Twins placed RHP Kevin Slowey on the DL with what they're calling "shoulder bursitis." Kevin first indicated that it was biceps soreness, but after an MRI, the Twins reported it as a shoulder strain. Perhaps they reviewed the images again to determine bursitis. It's hard to pinpoint the cause; Slowey won't venture a guess. Gardy was uncharacteristically outspoken about it, indicating that Slowey needs to learn how to pitch from the bullpen. Phil Mackey of ESPN1500 has the full story here. I asked Phil via Twitter if Gardy sounded as chippy (I may have used the word "snotty") as those quotes seemed. Sometimes it's hard to get tone-of-voice from printed direct quotes and I wanted to give Gardy the benefit of the doubt -- maybe his words came across more diplomatically as I was reading them. Phil replied that, yes, he did.

Bursitis is inflammation or irritation of a bursa sac that protects and cushions a joint. In this case, it's in the right shoulder. There has been no timetable for return announced.

Right-hander Alex Burnett has been called up from AAA Rochester to take the roster spot.

Nishioka Update:

Nishi's broken fibula won't require surgery or even a cast. The break occurred in a place where there is quite a bit of muscle tissue that stabilizes the bone.

What's With All the Singing?

So, it seems that the Twins players are having some fun doing some commercials. We can tell they're having fun because they're signing. Singing is fun.

If you're here in Minnesota, you've probably already seen the "snipe hunt" commercial featuring the vocal stylings of Denard Span, Jason Kubel, and Jerry White.

If you want to see it, here's a link.

I gotta say, Jerry White sings pretty well. No comment on the other two.

And now, our great state wants you to spend your money traveling throughout it. And Joe Mauer sings about it. He's exactly as awkward as you'd imagine.



It's a good thing they're good at baseball.

~~~

Be sure to check out the Rumor Report over on From The Third Baseline. I write about the trade rumors around Kevin Slowey.

Quick Notes: Jan. 30, 2011

If there was an award for the Most Boring Blog of the Week, I'd win this week. There isn't really a lot of news from Twins world. Add to that the fact that I wasn't able to make it to Twins Fest this weekend, there's not really a whole lot of stuff to talk about.

But, since you were kind enough to stop by, I'll come up with a couple of things.

~~~

News Item 1: Kevin Slowey and the Twins avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1-year, $2 something million contract.

~~~

News Item 2: The Twins picked up LHP Dusty Hughes off waivers from the Royals. In order to make room, they designated RHP Rob Delaney for assignment -- which means he had to pass through waivers in order to remain on the minor league roster -- who was promptly claimed by the Rays.

Ok. First of all, what is it with the Twins and guys named Hughes? Isn't he like the 17th one they've had in the last six years or so?

Secondly, I don't get this move at all. I can't figure out what the front office thinks their gaining by picking up a reject from the Royals. But, I don't really know much about this Hughes fellow, so I'll give him a chance. I just think it's dumb that they had to lose Delaney to get him.

~~~

News Item 3: Bert's number 28 will be retired by the Twins, now that Jesse Crain is gone and done using it. Huzzah!

~~~

News Item 4: The Twins are removing the pine trees that decorate the centerfield area of the stadium. Some of the batters were complaining that they couldn't see the ball due to the crazy shadows the trees cast during late afternoon and early evening games. Too bad; I thought the trees were pretty.

I hope they can transplant them to a suitable home, maybe around the plaza or someplace close by.

~~~

Ok, so Twins Fest. Due to other commitments -- well that, and the fact I failed to get some of those limited tickets in a timely manner, -- I was unable to attend. But I was absolutely captivated by following my Twitter feed. Many of my Twitter friends went and posted pictures. That was really fun; I'm glad they did. Several friends also posted pictures on Facebook; I loved them.

I also really appreciate how the Twins public relations folks really used Twitter to reach out to fans. It's so easy to conduct a quick interview with a player by recording it on an iPhone and then pop it on to Twitter. They did a number of those, and they were a ton of fun.

So between reading my friends tweets, seeing the Twitvids from the Twins, seeing a bunch of pictures on Facebook, and listening to the interviews on 1500ESPN on the radio, I didn't feel too sorry for myself for missing it.

~~~

Speaking of Twitter, it seems as if some of the players are embracing the social media craze and signing up. Denard (@thisisdspan) and Cuddy (@mcuddy5) have been on for a while, but recently have been reaching out more. Addtionally, Danny Valencia's (@dannyvalencia19) in -- probably the best thing to happen to Twitter, since, well, tweeting (don't believe me? just ask him). So if you're a Twitterer, be sure you're following these guys; it's a lot of fun.

If I had some words of advice for players on Twitter, they would be:

• Keep it real. We follow you because we really want to get to know you a little better. Go ahead and talk about whatever's on your mind -- music, television, movies, food, and of course, baseball.
• Keep it classy. Don't call out your teammates or coaches and don't disrespect your opponents. That kind of stuff might make for some entertaining Twitterbattles, it can also get blown out of proportion in a hurry. We'd hate for you to have to shut down because you pissed someone off. Best to take the approach of pretending that Gardy and your mom are looking over your shoulder with every tweet -- if you can't say it in front of them, don't say it at all. Keep things positive and fun, and you'll be all right.
• Keep a thick skin. There will be some jerks who forget that you are a real human being and will take out their (usually hypersensitive) frustrations out on you because you're there and say some mean things. Don't ever ever ever take this crap personally. These people are morons; don't forget that. Just shrug off their BS. (Oh, and a note to the knuckleheads who do that -- knock it off! You're not that smart and no one likes you.) 

~~~

Now that Twins Fest is done, there's not much to do until Spring Training starts. I'll really surprised if the Twins' front office does anything between now and then, other than avoiding arbitration with Delmon and Francisco. I expect those to be one-year deals, but then they may work on contract extentions for both of them during Spring Training.

Indians at Twins: Well, Isn't This Fun?

Recap:
Monday -- Indians 3 - Twins 9
Tuesday -- Indians 4 - Twins 6
Wednesday -- Indians 1 - Twins 5

Record: 92-60, your 2010 American League Central Division Champions! 

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Not only is this team fun to watch, but they're also playing very good baseball right now. Obviously, it helps that the White Sox fell into a nasty swoon, but I believe that even if the Sox had played normally, the Twins would still have taken the Division -- they're that good. It is nice to give a few of the everyday-guys a day off now and then so they're fresh for the playoffs. They still have work to do; they want home-field advantage for the first round -- they have to have a better record than the Rangers to do that -- if not for both the ALDS and ALCS -- they have to have a better record than everybody for that. They also don't want to lose momentum. Fresh and sharp should be the goal now. I'm not worried; I think they'll be ok.

I'm still pretty giddy, and tired, from last night, so here are some random thoughts, in no particular order:

• I watched the end of the A's-White Sox game after the Twins game. If you're not familiar with White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson, suffice it to say I'm not a fan. Anyway, right when I tuned in, he was doing his best to convince his listeners that the Twins are very good and they deserved the playoffs, blah blah blah. He sounded pretty despondent, but at least he was trying. Anyway, as he was talking about the Twins' season, he went on to talk about the man who was instrumental to the great record: Jon Rauch. Um, really? He even threw out the "the straw that stirred the drink" cliche. What, is he forbidden to talk about Jim Thome? I mean, nothing against Rauch, but I don't really think he did that much heavy lifting for the whole season. Whatever.
• During the celebration, Denard Span was joking about Danny Valencia's swagger. It was hilarious; Danny was enjoying the attention. Denard even said that everyone should "hide your daughters" from Danny. But he never said anything about hiding Danny from us cougars. Rawr.
• Speaking of the celebration, I liked how it was fun, yet not too wild. I think that if they're going to have an over-the-top-bachelor-party-type party, they should save it for a bigger championship. Also, you should go check out my buddy Betsy's pictures on her blog. She was one of the lucky fans who stayed at Target Field to celebrate with the boys.
• On Wednesday, most of the back-up guys got to play. There was a lot of joking on Twitter about the degree of hungoverness the boys would be. I'm sure they weren't really in that bad of shape. That's what Red Bull is for. But I bet their eyes were still stinging from the champagne. However, they all did a nice job, so it's all good.

Angels at Twins: Royal Love

Recap:
Friday -- Angels 2 - Twins 7
Saturday -- Angels 9 - Twins 3
Sunday -- Angels 0 - Twins 4

Record: 72-52; 5 games ahead

I'm in a loving mood this morning. So I thought I'd spread some around...

Brian Duensing -- Aww, honey. It looks like you're all growed up to be a real pitcher. Also, it made my heart sing when you tried so valiantly to come in for the ninth. I'm so proud.
Jim Thome -- Another triple -- your second of the year. I love triples. It's so cute when you have to run.
Jason Kubel -- Ok, so home runs aren't quite as adorable as triples, I do still love them when you hit them. So keep it up.
Any Lefthanded Person Not Named Glen Perkins -- I love you because I honestly think you might be able to help the bullpen. With Mahay and Mijares hurt, and Glen Perkins being (ack) Glen Perkins, you've got a real shot.
Scott Baker -- Rocking the goatee and pitching shutout innings. Very sexy indeed.
Danny Valencia -- That home run was pretty impressive. And you're so cute, I could just give you a big squeeze (in a totally non-creepy way, of course).
Michael Cuddyer -- You not only fought off like 692 pitches from Jered Weaver -- some of which are one you typically strike out on -- and then finally hitting a juicy double, you also sacrificed your ego and intentionally looked silly on the basepaths so that Kubel could score from first. Also, did you see what you did to Weaver's face? I thought his forehead was going to burst. Bonus love for that.
Kevin Slowey -- Get well soon, honey. Again.

And, last but not least, The Kansas City Royals -- You took an excruciatingly cruel scheduling snafu against the White Sox, and beat them two of three. In extra innings. For all three games. All within 24 hours. Thank you.